modulate

Verb
Synonyms: toneinflectregulate

WordNet 3.0

Verb (5)

  1. change the key of, in music“modulate the melody”
  2. vary the pitch of one's speechSynonyms: toneinflect
  3. fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of“regulate the temperature”“modulate the pitch”Synonyms: regulate
  4. adjust the pitch, tone, or volume of
  5. vary the frequency, amplitude, phase, or other characteristic of (electromagnetic waves)
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Modulate \Mod"u*late\, v. i. (Mus.) To pass from one key into another. [1913 Webster]
Modulate \Mod"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Modulating.] [L. modulatus, p. p. of modulari to measure, to modulate, fr. modulus a small measure, meter, melody, dim. of modus. See Mode.]

1.To form, as sound, to a certain key, or to a certain portion. [1913 Webster]

2.To vary or inflect in a natural, customary, or musical manner; as, the organs of speech modulate the voice in reading or speaking. [1913 Webster]

Could any person so modulate her voice as to deceive so many?— Broome.[1913 Webster]

3.(Electronics) To alter the amplitude, frequency, phase, or intensity of (the carrier wave of a radio signal) at intervals, so as to represent information to be conveyed by the signal; -- a technique used to convey information by means of radio waves transmitted by one electronic device and received by another. [WordNet 1.5]

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